This invention relates generally to printing press components, and specifically to a removable ink cassette containing an ink pan and a meter roll.
Flexographic printing presses are used to print various images on a moving web. Such printing presses contain at least four rolls and an ink pan or tray. In a typical roll configuration, the meter or fountain roll is located above the ink pan and collects the ink(s) from the ink pan. The meter roll transfers the ink(s) to the anilox roll. The anilox roll in turn transfers the ink(s) to a textured plate roll, which contains the image to be printed onto the moving web. The plate roll contacts the first side of the moving web to transfer the image to the first side of the web. An impression cylinder contacts the second side of the moving web to press the web against the plate cylinder.
However, the present inventors have realized that the prior art flexographic printing presses suffer from the following disadvantages. The ink pan, the meter roll and anilox roll in these printing presses are contained as separate elements in a housing, which is permanently attached to the printing press frame. These permanent housings sometimes require special tools to remove the ink pan and the meter roll from the printing press. Furthermore, in order to remove the ink pan from the printing press for cleaning and ink changing, the press operator first has to separately remove the anilox roll from the printing press and then remove the meter roll from the ink pan before removing the ink pan from the printing press. The separate roll removal steps lead to an increased down time for the printing press while the ink pan is being removed for cleaning. The present invention is directed to overcoming or at least reducing the problems set forth above.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a removable ink cassette for a printing press, comprising an ink pan and a meter roll, wherein the ink pan and the meter roll are removed from the printing press together by removing the ink cassette from the printing press.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flexographic printing press, comprising a printing press frame, a first means for mounting an ink pan and a meter roll at the same time to the printing press frame and for removing the ink pan and the meter roll at the same time from the printing press frame, an anilox roll, a plate roll, and an impression roll.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of assembling a flexographic printing press, comprising providing a removable ink cassette containing an ink pan and a meter roll, guiding the ink cassette into a predetermined location on the printing press, and removably securing the ink cassette to a printing press frame.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of disassembling a flexographic printing press, comprising releasing an ink cassette containing an ink pan and a meter roll from the printing press frame without removing an anilox roll from the printing press frame, and transferring the ink cassette to a first location remote from the printing press.